Christening Gifts and a Godparent's Duties – Spare a Thought for the Queen

How many godchildren do you have? Two … maybe three? Some of us may even be able to boast as many as half a dozen or so. Well spare a thought for The Queen. At the last count, Queen Elizabeth II had amassed a grand total of 30 godchildren.

For us mere mortals, choosing an appropriate Christening gift, remembering a birthday or finding another Christmas present, on top of providing the occasional piece of pithy moral and spiritual advice, can be taxing at the best of times. So how does The Queen manage with thirty little souls to guide?

Well, firstly we can assume that she doesn’t spend too much time pottering around the shops trying to find that special Christening gift. Similarly, an equerry will probably remind her when the next birthday is due and a Lady-in-Waiting or a Woman of the Bedchamber will be on hand to recommend the most popular Christmas presents for the little darlings. I think we are safe in assuming that the godchildren don’t come high on that list of forgotten jobs that keeps the rest of us awake at 3am in the morning.

The Queen has also spread her responsibilities over a few decades. To tell the truth, most of the little darlings aren’t really that “little” at all. The oldest godson is now well into his sixties, whilst the youngest goddaughter is already in her twenties. So, with a bit of judicious planning, The Queen has managed to dilute her godparent’s duties over time.

Part of a godparent’s purpose is binding ever-tighter links between friends and family. Never has this been more true than in the case of the old family firm that is “Royalty.” Look down the list of The Queen’s godchildren and it is easy to see ties and connections being strengthened and alliances forged. One of The Queen’s first godsons was Crown Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia, her last goddaughter was Princess Theodora of Greece. There are Barons, Dukes and Viscounts scattered about all over the place. And when you do find someone on the list who sounds just like the rest of us – take George Herbert for example – he turns out to be an earl … the 8th Earl of Carnarvon to be exact. Yes, becoming a godparent really is a case of “keeping it in the family.”

However, as The Queen so correctly observed: “Like all the best families, we have our share of eccentricities, of impetuous and wayward youngsters and of family disagreements.” So, if we look a bit further down the list of godsons, we find Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, brother of Diana, Princess of Wales. The Queen was present at his Christening on 14 July 1964 in the Henry VII Chapel at Westminster Abbey. It's worth considering, that the next time they faced each other in Westminster Abbey was at Diana’s funeral when Earl Spencer read his moving and rather controversial eulogy in front of a global TV audience of around 2.5 billion viewers.

As a final note, you should be aware that The Queen is not alone in taking on numerous godchildren. Prince Charles already has thirty-three godchildren, while Prince William started assuming godparental responsibility way back in 1999. His first chosen godson followed family tradition; he was Prince Konstantine Alexios of Greece.